Calabria Seafood Spaghetti Recipe (Spaghetti di Tornola) With Fresh Tomato Sauce by Donna John

When I was in Italy, I found myself eating more seafood than I had expected. Not a bad thing! Almost every restaurant had some kind of seafood pasta dish, and I tried several. When I got home, recreating them and finding great seafood pasta recipes was a priority.

This spaghetti di tornola recipe is from one of the great Italian chefs, Lidia Bastianich. "Just about every region that is touching the sea in Italy (15 out of 20 regions!) has a rendition of a seafood sauce to dress a quick plate of pasta," she writes on the PBS website for her cooking show. "This recipe is from the region of Calabria, which has quite a bit of coast to fish upon, and where the best spicy pasta in Italy can be found. I visited Calabria during my travels for 'Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy,' and was so happy to bring this dish back with me as a souvenir."

Cuisine: Italian
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredient

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (plus more for the pasta pot)
• 8 ounces medium calamari, cleaned
• 8 ounces sea scallops
• 1 pound large shrimp
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (plus 2 tablespoons more for finishing the pasta)
• 6 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved, or 2 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon pepperoncino flakes, or to taste (you can substitute crushed red pepper flakes)
• 1 pound (16 ounces) spaghetti
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Here's how to make it: 

1. Fill a large pot with salted water (at least 6 quarts water with 1 tablespoon salt) Bring to a boil.
2. To prepare the seafood, cut the calamari bodies, including the tentacles, into 1/2-inch rings. Pull off the side muscle or “foot” from the scallops and discard. Remove the shells, tails and digestive veins from the shrimp. Rinse and pat dry.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet set it over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to sizzle and color, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes, sprinkle on the teaspoon salt and the pepperoncino, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until softened and sizzling in their juices, but still intact. (Tip: Start cooking the pasta first and the seafood right after, so they are ready at the same time.)
4. Drop the spaghetti into the boiling water, stir, and return the water to a boil. As it cooks, scatter the calamari rings and tentacles in the pan with the tomatoes, and get them sizzling over medium-high heat. Let the pieces cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then toss in the scallops, and spread them out to heat and start sizzling quickly. After they’ve cooked for a couple of minutes, toss in the shrimp, ladle in a cup of boiling pasta water, stir the seafood and sauce together, bring to a steady simmer and cook just until the shrimp turn pink and begin to curl, about 3 minutes.
5. As soon as the spaghetti is barely al dente, lift it from the pot, drain briefly and drop into the skillet. Toss the pasta and the simmering sauce together for abut 1 minute, or until the spaghetti is nicely coated with sauce and al dente, and the seafood is distributed throughout the pasta. Turn off the heat, sprinkle on the basil and parsley. Drizzle on another 2 tablespoons olive oil. Toss well and serve.